She is adamantly opposed to it because his handwriting is not as refined as other children and because he still draws stick people. He also has trouble with the directions apparently. I think it is more of a perception issue as she told him to draw his name in colors;

Sigh. If my son's school had gone by that kind of standard, he would still be in kindergarten. He had intractable problems with handwriting (he is dysgraphic) and there were those who felt that this kind of thing not only disqualified him from acceleration, it disqualified him from the GT program. When my son was a 9 year old 6th grader (who nonetheless had difficulty with handwriting), his social studies teacher felt he didn't belong in the GT course -- in fact should be in resource social studies instead of on level -- solely because he couldn't color neatly within the lines and was allowed to type his work. She even told me that his mind could keep up and academically he could make an A in her class but didn't belong in anything above resource since he couldn't handwrite well.... Thankfully, the administration didn't agree. (He never did learn how to handwrite very well despite occupational therpay and in college still types his work most of the time, but if left to her he would presumably be languishing in resource high school courses instead of college courses)

It is very hard to get a teacher like the one you describe to change their views. I'm not saying it is impossible but sure not likely.

Will the principal go ahead and do the pullout? Sometimes what works is to suggest it as a trial. Usually all the fears of problems evaporate during the trial but that way the teacher doesn't feel her input was ignored.

Announcements

When Life Gives You Lemons
We all have had hardships and made poor decisions. The important thing is how we respond and grow. Read the story of a Fool who started from nothing, and looks to gain everything.

Work for Fools?
Winner of the Washingtonian great places to work, and Glassdoor #1 Company to Work For 2015! Have access to all of TMF's online and email products for FREE, and be paid for your contributions to TMF! Click the link and start your Fool career.